S.F. CRIME Man shot to death near his home in Crocker-Amazon, mystifying family and neighbors; cousin is wounded

Updated 5:52 pm, Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Neighbor Gustavo Manzanares at the site where Daniel Colon was shot dead. He remembers watching Colon, 43, grow up.

Neighbor Gustavo Manzanares at the site where Daniel Colon was shot dead. He remembers watching Colon, 43, grow up.

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

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A memorial was left at the site where 43-year-old Daniel Colon was shot to death near his home.

A memorial was left at the site where 43-year-old Daniel Colon was shot to death near his home.

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

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Friends who were with Daniel Colon, 43, yesterday watching the 49er game, visit the memorial where he was shot at 12:05 this morning on the 1100 block of Naples St. in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, January 21, 2013. His cousin Andrew Colon, 34, was shot in the chest and taken to SF General hospital. less

Friends who were with Daniel Colon, 43, yesterday watching the 49er game, visit the memorial where he was shot at 12:05 this morning on the 1100 block of Naples St. in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, January ... more

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

Image 4 of 4

Friends who were with Daniel Colon, 43, yesterday watching the 49er game, visit the memorial where he was shot at 12:05 this morning on the 1100 block of Naples St. in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, January 21, 2013. His cousin Andrew Colon, 34, was shot in the chest and taken to SF General hospital. less

Friends who were with Daniel Colon, 43, yesterday watching the 49er game, visit the memorial where he was shot at 12:05 this morning on the 1100 block of Naples St. in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, January ... more

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

Man dead, cousin wounded in S.F. shooting

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A man was killed and his cousin wounded in a shooting early Monday in San Francisco's Crocker-Amazon neighborhood, police and friends said.

Daniel Colon, 43, was shot to death at 12:05 a.m. on the 1100 block of Naples Street, around the corner from where he lived. His cousin, Andrew Colon, 34, was shot in the chest but is expected to survive, authorities said. He was being treated at San Francisco General Hospital.

No arrest has been made.

Daniel Colon's mother, Tina Colon, said she did not know why anyone would open fire on the two, who were so close they considered themselves brothers.

"I have no idea," she said, adding that police had not told her any details of what led up to the shooting.

Todd Newkirk, a neighbor, said he heard four shots just after midnight and heard someone screaming for help.

"I called 911 when I heard the guy and then we moved to the back of the house," he said. "That guy screaming must have seen what happened."

Daniel Colon grew up in the neighborhood, said Gloria Rodriguez, a neighbor and friend of the family.

"He was a good guy, and this was a quiet, good neighborhood," she said. "When they were little they did teenager things, but he never got into trouble now."

Colon worked as a tile setter and occasionally swam from Alcatraz to the San Francisco shore, friends and family said. When his mother needed a kidney transplant, Daniel Colon donated one of his.

He leaves behind an 11-year-old son, his mother said.

He "was just loved by everybody in this neighborhood," said Tina Colon, who also lives in Crocker-Amazon. "He had a countless amount of friends and family."

Jeff Castle, a neighbor, heard the news Monday morning and wandered to the sidewalk in his socks to join a group of mourners burning candles and drinking beer.

"I just found out about it five minutes ago," he said, wiping a tear from his eye. "He was the coolest guy in the world. The best neighbor a guy could have. If he wasn't working and he was at home and you needed his help, he'd give you the shirt off his back, dude."

Rodriguez said Daniel Colon was a lifelong 49ers fan. He and his cousin had been out celebrating the victory Sunday that put the team in the Super Bowl, relatives said.

"He was a great guy," Rodriguez said. "A 49er all the way and now, no celebration."

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